Iowa Bounces Back With High-Scoring Conference Win

Following their 90-64 blowout loss against the top-ranked UConn Huskies last week, the Iowa Hawkeyes - newly ranked No. 14 themselves - had no time to breathe. Immediately returning home to conference play, the women's basketball team, under sophomore head coach Jan Jensen, hosted the Penn State Lady Lions in a "get back" game, if you will.

And get back the Hawkeyes did, in almost equally tantalizing fashion as their prior loss. The Hawkeyes came out on top 99-76, improving to 11-2 overall and knocking the Lady Lions record one game closer to .500, at 7-6.

While Iowa was heavily favored entering the matchup, competition in the B1G can't be underestimated, on any level.

From here on out, every game means at least a little, and Jensen's squad will have to tread carefully regardless of where their opponent is ranked. Against the Nittany Lions, though, it just so happened to make very little difference.

A Crucial Hot Start

A big part of the Hawkeyes' success came down to their ability to bury the Lady Lions early, almost entirely in the first quarter. By the first buzzer of that period, Iowa had already jumped out to a 29-14 lead, effectively rendering Penn State without momentum.

The visiting team actually managed to outscore the black and gold 23-20 in the second quarter, but by then, the damage had already been done. The Hawkeyes ran away with this one, and fast.

B1G W. pic.twitter.com/RqsOjE98EU
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) December 28, 2025

Not only did the team put on a show as an operative whole, but individually, Journey Houston pulled out her first career double-double, giving the team that much more reason to celebrate big following the win.

Houston highlighted the stat sheet with 11 points and rebounds each, but in scoring alone, Iowa collected 27 and 16 from usual top contributors Ava Heiden and Chit-Chat Wright, respectively.

Stuffin' the stat sheet 😤@Journey_Renae notched her first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. pic.twitter.com/CFScEfXUJT
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) December 28, 2025

Constant Competition Ahead

Although Iowa should enjoy its bounce-back win, the festivities have little room to last in the face of the team's matchup with the No. 20 Nebraska Cornhuskers on the first day of the new year. The beginning of conference play means the end of rest, both on and off the court.

Dec 20, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes guard Taylor Stremlow (1) dribbles the ball against the UConn Huskies during the first half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Pamela Smith-Imagn Images | Pamela Smith-Imagn Images

From there, it'll be the usual B1G gauntlet for Jan Jensen and her steadily improving Hawkeyes team. While the early-tenure HC is still finding her footing, the team looks mightily competitive in its current state.

With much of the season still left to play, fans can hope for a squad ready to cause problems on the national level when March rolls around.

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